Shōwa

Discover the Nippon Sei Ko Kai Nara Christ Church, a stunning Japanese-style Anglican church adjacent to Kōfuku-ji Temple in Nara. Designed by master carpenter Ōki Kichitarō and completed in 1930, this Important Cultural Property of Japan uniquely blends traditional Japanese architecture with Western liturgical design.

Discover the Ikusei Kindergarten Building, doubling as the Nippon Sei Ko Kai Sakurai St. Paul's Church Chapel in Sakurai City, Nara. Built in 1930, this Registered Tangible Cultural Property blends Western church architecture with Japanese craftsmanship, featuring scissor trusses and pointed arch windows.

Quietly set on a wooded hillside in Uda City, Nara Prefecture, the Ushitani Family Residence Main House was completed in 1968 by the office of Junzo Sakakura, a disciple of Le Corbusier, and was added to Japan’s register of Tangible Cultural Properties in December 2024. Its deep-eaved roof, clockwise flow of ground-floor rooms, and radially arranged rafters make it a small but refined masterwork of mature post-war Japanese modernism.

Completed in 1933 and designed by master carpenter Nakagawa Kichijirō, the Former Ikoma Town Hall is a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property featuring traditional Japanese architectural elements including irimoya-hafu gables and refined woodwork. Now the Ikoma Furusato Museum, this beautifully restored building showcases the rich heritage of Ikoma City.

Discover the Former Sixty-Eight Bank Yagi Branch in Kashihara, Nara — a 1928 Renaissance-inspired reinforced concrete landmark, now a French restaurant. Explore this Registered Tangible Cultural Property and its fascinating history.

Saho Kaikan, located on the campus of Nara Women's University, is an alumni hall built in 1928 to commemorate the wedding of Crown Prince Hirohito (later Emperor Shōwa). Designed by architect Iwasaki Heitarō, this two-story wooden building features a stately irimoya roof, a grand hall with a coffered ceiling, and refined tatami rooms with openwork transoms. It was registered as a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2005.

Discover the Jokyoji Temple Bulletin Board Shelter (Keijibansya), a nationally registered tangible cultural property in Nara. This early Showa-era structure stands on Japan's oldest shopping street and is connected to Ernest Fenollosa's historic lecture on preserving Japanese art.